Finding the Motivation to keep Writing after Rejections

I’m not going to lie to you, or sugarcoat it. Rejection is hard. It hurts - makes you question your ability to write, if your story is any good at all, if you’ve wasted all your time, effort and maybe even money on a pipeline dream that’s only going to bring you misery and an endless stream of rejections.

For some aspiring writers, it even makes them question their self-worth. And that’s exactly what it did to me. I’d wanted to be a writer from the moment I graduated. It was all I wanted - the only career path that made sense to me. In short, it was the only kind of future I was willing to envision for myself.

I’d heard time and time again how difficult it was to make a sufficient living as a writer or get traditionally published (which basically means to secure a literary agent and have your book subsequently acquired by a publisher). Although none of that advice put me off, I did learn the hard way just how brutally honest it was!

“I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.” - Sylvia Plath

Writing your first novel takes so much from you and you usually don’t get anything in return for it. I remember working on my first story, which was a YA Crime Romance (a modern-day Romeo + Juliet set in London). I finished it with stars in my eyes, so sure that someone out there would realise I’d created something special. Instead, I received endless rejection emails from agents.

After moping for a while, I decided to pull myself together and let go of the book, which clearly wasn’t good enough. I took Sylvia Plath’s advice and decided to love my rejection slips and use them to propel me to work harder on something better. My first book will always have a special place in my heart, it just wasn’t meant to find a place on a shelf.

The second novel I decided to work on was a Young Adult Fantasy Romance. I would pitch it as Aladdin meets Six of Crows. I worked hard on brushing up my writing skills, drafting an exhilarating fantasy world, creating an unputdownable story. When it was ready, I sent it out to literary agents. Again, after months and months of trying, there was no interest (a few agents asked to see the full manuscript but there were no offers of representation). And it was at this point that the self-doubt really kicked in.

I could no longer blame other factors, such as not connecting with the right literary agents or my work being more suited for American rather than British agents and publishers (because I also submitted to US agents this time). I began to feel as though something was lacking in my writing and me. It’s a feeling most writers will relate to, because our writing is so closely attached to us - our emotions, longings, dreams. At this point in my life, I experienced an extreme low in my self-esteem and sense of purpose - perhaps the most intense kind I ever have…

“My biggest piece of advice: focus on the storytelling, on doing your characters justice. Because, while everything else may fail you, that will not.”

However, even at this point, my desire to become a writer was stronger than my fear of not being good enough. After a year of moping and wallowing in self-pity, I started working on another story, the one that got a me two-book deal with my dream publisher: Penguin Random House.

I forgot about the technicalities of it all; the truth of having my work validated by a whole host of people before it reached publication. Instead, I focused on the truth of my story, my characters. And it was this truth that propelled me, that uplifted me with excitement once again, that reminded me why I’d started writing in the first place.

And, in that, is my biggest piece of advice: focus on the storytelling, on doing your characters justice. Because, while everything may fail you, that will not. You will always be proud of writing your story, of materialising something that is so close to your heart. And, in all honesty, people may be able to ignore good writing but I’ve never met anyone who’s able to ignore a damn good story.

As Harry Bingham (writer and owner of literary consultancy ‘Jericho Writers’) has explained in his book, ‘How to Write’, even if the writing isn’t the greatest but the story is incredible, then there’s a high chance there will be interest in the manuscript. However, if the writing is spectacular but the story isn’t good, there’s no way it’ll find interest. Fiction is all about the story - writing something honest and gripping and unputdownable.

Those who want to be writers badly enough, will keep going: honing their craft, collecting their rejection letters, breathing life into new characters and stories, creating worlds through words. Because it’s simply a part of who they are. Honestly, I don’t think I could stop writing even I wanted to. I’ve done so many random jobs to keep myself afloat while pursuing my dream of becoming a published author and never once did I truly consider giving up on writing stories (even though at some points the thought did cross my mind).

As difficult as my writing journey has been, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It got me to where I am today. And because I didn’t give up, I managed to improve my writing skills and ability to build great stories along the way. To put it simply: I wasn’t ready to be published back then, even though I thought I was. My time is now. And if you want it badly enough, you’ll keep going until your time comes too.

Having said that, I acknowledge the emotional rollercoaster - the lows that come with the rejections. It isn’t easy. Writers have to be incredibly resilient and I hope that you build up your perseverance, don’t let rejection knock down your confidence for too long and keep believing in yourself. That perseverance and self-belief is going to take you to amazing places and it’ll help you write sublime stories…